A Facebook video you should not click on (even though you want to)

Chances are you’ve been perusing your Facebook feed lately and noticed a video with an image of a disgusting bump on some poor fella’s hand (no, I didn’t watch it, but after some research, I’ll just tell you: it’s abscess (something I recommend you don’t watch unless you’re into that kind of thing, a medical student or just someone who likes nasty things like that).

Bottom line, if you click to watch it – it most likely will be shared on your timeline for others to watch. Shared by who? You. I’ll explain.

This is what the video preview looks like on the Facebook app for iPhone. Gross!

A Facebook video you should not click on

Regardless of your tolerance or interest for disgusting videos, NO ONE should click to watch this particular video (and a few others like it).

Creative content distributors consistently find ways to get around Facebook’s privacy filters. And by ‘get around’ it I mean you yourself are letting them in – many times without even realizing what access you’ve granted.

If you see this video and click to watch it (I know, we’ll never understand why we choose to watch this stuff, but it’s like a car crash – most people have to look), you’ll be taken to this screen:

Be sure to read exactly what the app is requesting to do. While this says ‘This does not let the app post to Facebook’, many times it won’t say this – meaning it’s requesting it. It’s best not to give any approval to apps you don’t recognize and are familiar with.

This is Facebook’s warning saying you’re going to give the ‘app’ that is supplying the video access to your public profile information (in order to watch the video), your friend list and your city. Do you want to do that? Maybe not. When apps are created, they must register with Facebook. So if you share Instagram photos or tweets from Twitter on your Facebook feed, at some point you had to give those companies access to do so. So you approved a box like this.

No one likes reading fine print, but this is print you should read when you land on access screens like this. Because this particular video has found a way to not only access your friend list, but also control your timeline in which they can post the disgusting video on your feed. And since it’s your account, you were the one who posted it (without actually doing so).

How do I get rid of it for good?

First, delete the post.

If you’re on a desktop computer or laptop, open Facebook and make sure you’re logged in. Do the following to make sure it goes away for good.

Click on the small down arrow in the top right corner.

Click on SETTINGS.

Click on Apps.

Don’t forget to click on SHOW ALL. Pretty amazing how many apps you’ve given access to your information, eh?!

Hover over the offending app and click REMOVE. If you don’t know the name of the app, it may be a good idea to delete apps you aren’t familiar with. After all, this is your account. You should be familiar with every app that is communicating with your Facebook profile.

Poof! It’s Gone.

If you’re concerned your issues are bigger and you’re having repeated problems with posts you didn’t create or approve, you may want to change your password as your account may have been compromised. That’s always a good first step.

But based on annoying apps that re-post on your behalf, this is a good approach for fixing the issue.

Bottom line: there are things in life that aren’t appealing. Fight the urge to click and watch. And remember when you grant access to apps, you grant permission to let them become you – so approve cautiously. Better yet, get back to work and quit Facebooking!

Let me know in comments if you’ve seen any other offending videos or apps that are re-posting without notifying you.

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Josh Benson

Josh Benson writes about the web, technology, TV News and life in general. He's a self-admitted geek and loves being a Dad. He covers the day's news on WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida. He struggles to learn code and work out but loves all things tech and web!

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This website is full of things that you (hopefully) will find useful through tech, social media, startups, TV News, life hacks and more. Most of this content was discovered on my journey around the country as a television news anchor. Thanks for stopping by. Read more.